helped to cheer me. First there were races in which only two ponies at a
time took part, the last race being run between two winners. A _kata_
was presented to the final winner. Next one horseman rode ahead full
gallop flying a _kata_, while some others followed closely behind. The
_kata_ was dropped. When it settled on the ground, the horsemen
following the leader rode away, and, at a given signal, galloped back
wildly, converging toward the _kata_, attempting to pick it up without
dismounting. Some of the younger men were very clever at this game.

Another sport consisted in one man on foot being seized and lifted on to
the saddle by a mounted comrade riding full gallop.

Though I could not see as well as I wished, I enjoyed the show, and
expressed admiration for the ponies. The Pombo thoughtfully ordered the
best of them to be brought closer to me, and had me lifted into a
sitting posture, so that I could see them better.

This was a great relief. I was suffering more from my humiliating
position, being unable to stand, than from the tortures themselves, bad
as they were. The Pombo told me that I must now look toward the tent. He
then got up and walked toward it.

The opening of the tent was over twenty feet long. Some soldiers came
and dragged me close in front of it, so that I could witness all that
went on.

Two powerful Lamas entered the tent with the Pombo. A number of other
people who were inside were turned out. They closed the tent for a few
minutes, and then opened it again. In the mean time a gong summoned the
Lamas from the monastery and, a few minutes later, a procession of them
came down and took their places inside the tent.

The Pombo, in his yellow coat and trousers and four-pointed hat, sat on
a high-backed chair in the centre of the tent. By his side stood the two
Lamas who had first entered with him. The Pombo was beyond doubt in a
hypnotic trance. He sat motionless, with his hands flat on his knees and
his head erect; his eyes were fixed and staring. He remained like this
for some minutes. All the soldiers and people who had collected in front
of the tent went down on their knees, laid their caps on the ground, and
muttered prayers. One of the two Lamas, a fellow with evident mesmeric
powers, now laid his hand upon the shoulders of the Pombo, who gradually
raised his arms with hands outstretched and remained, as if in a
cataleptic state, for a long time without moving.

Next the Lama touche